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Philly Families Are Taking Charge of Their Own Food Security

Emily Nonko

June 15, 2021 |

Next City |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

In 2014, the community organization Asociación Puertorriqueños en Marcha piloted a community-based Food Buying Club in Philadelphia. This initiative allowed local residents to buy food in bulk at wholesale prices. The goal was to strengthen food security and combat the lack of affordable and nutritious food in their neighborhood. Despite distributing over 62,000 pounds of fresh produce, the program shut down due to financial reasons. Now, after forming an advisory council and working on their business strategy with others in the community, the club is reopening and is looking to expand across the city.

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Sustaining the Work of Artists With a Living Wage and Benefits In Western Massachusetts

Emily Nonko

June 09, 2021 |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Massachusetts

Artists at Work is a pilot project of THE OFFICE performing arts + film that paired artists with cultural and community partners to work on local initiatives. For their work, the artists were paid a living wage, including healthcare, which resulted in responses to issues like youth mental health, food justice, and COVID-19 awareness campaigns in communities that are marginalized. From empowering youth to build community through food and farming to engaging young queer people of color, the successful six-month pilot led to a new fundraising campaign to continue and expand to seven regions across the U.S.

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This Nonprofit Eliminated a Simple Barrier Keeping New Orleans Teens From Their Summer Internships

Emily Nonko

May 27, 2021 |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, New Orleans, Louisiana

Onerous paperwork and required legal documents keep many youth - especially those not living with legal guardians - from taking part in city internships, so YouthForce NOLA worked with the city to pilot an internship program with fewer barriers. The streamlined application included workarounds for common issues, like allowing public school records to certify residency, accepting approval from non-legal guardians, and providing a checklist with exactly what records they need and how they can get them. The added support reduced anxiety among the youth and significantly increased retention in the internships.

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This Oakland Restaurant Was Developed in the Spirit of Mutual Aid

Emily Nonko

April 08, 2021 |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Oakland, California

The 8th Street Collective, a loose organization of Oakland food industry workers, and Oakland Bloom, a group that supports refugee and immigrant chefs, opened a new restaurant, bar, and community hub space. A team of four worker-leaders rotates operational roles of Understory, the restaurant, and are working with lawyers to become cooperatively owned. The restaurant serves a pop-up-style rotating menu four days a week, including dishes by Oakland Bloom chefs and the other days are dedicated to the nonprofit’s incubator and training program called Open Test Kitchen, as well as other programming.

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This ‘Hygiene Hub' Is Run By People Experiencing Homelessness

Emily Nonko

March 16, 2021 |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Portland, Oregon

People experiencing homelessness can now access hot showers and bathrooms at the Hygiene Hub. Staff at the Portland initiative include both unhoused paid workers and housed volunteers, all with extensive staff training to help create a safe space so everyone who needs services at the Hygiene Hub feels welcomed.

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Instead of Eviction, Landlords and Tenants Talk It Out

Emily Nonko

February 19, 2021 |

Reasons to be Cheerful |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia's Eviction Diversion Program has helped keep more than 400 landlord-tenant disputes out of eviction court proceedings, mainly by using volunteer mediators to work out mutually agreeable plans for tenants to get caught up on their rent payments. The program started in 2020 as a way to keep people housed during the pandemic. By giving landlords and tenants a place to talk out their issues without the expense and repercussions of going to court, and by connecting tenants with rent-assistance aid, the program's launch was successful enough to win an extension throughout 2021.

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How Newark Water Coalition Is Bringing the City Clean Water Without Plastic Waste

Emily Nonko

February 18, 2021 |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Newark, New Jersey

Since it was reported that Newark’s lead levels in the city’s drinking water were higher than federal standards, the Newark Water Coalition installed a Water Box. This is a portable filtration system that removes contaminants to provide 10 gallons of clean water each minute. The organization worked with another nonprofit that implemented a Water Box in Flint, Michigan, to secure funding to install three others in the city.

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How a Brooklyn Coalition Is Fighting Isolation in Seniors with Low-Tech Conference Calls

Emily Nonko

February 11, 2021 |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, New York, New York

To address the growing isolation facing senior citizens, a Brooklyn-based organization started an initiative called The Sharing Network to connect volunteers with seniors via telephone calls. Taking the participants' interests into account, the initiative has expanded to include the moderator-led discussion groups that focus on a wide variety of topics, with more than 70 seniors signing up to be included.

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Seattle's Newest Community Hub Was Built, Literally, By Neighbors

Emily Nonko

February 09, 2021 |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Seattle, Washington

A collective of artists in Seattle bought real estate for a community center with the help of city funding. Known as Black and Tan Hall, the space drew funding and sweat equity from community members who sought a safe and affordable place to gather. The initiative to buy the building is “an anti-gentrification model that combats displacement, keeps dollars hyper local, and sustains good jobs.”

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Minneapolis Is Funding Artists' Community Healing Projects With Police Dollars

Emily Nonko

February 03, 2021 |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Minneapolis, Minnesota

Through its Creative CityMaking program, the city of Minneapolis pays artists to use their skills to promote healing and community-building in projects they design on their own. The program had existed for seven years when the George Floyd case roiled Minneapolis. The city council carved $150,000 out of the police budget to add to its artist-led community healing work. One of the 10 most recent grantees, Rising From the Ashes, produced a series of online gatherings for local queer artists and artists of color, concluding with an online exhibit of art made during the 2020 uprising.

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